Our heritage of African-American spirituals is a rich one. Give Me Jesus is about how the most important thing in life – or death – is Jesus, our Lord and Savior. In the morning, when I rise, in the morning, when I rise, in the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, …
Tag: 3-5 octaves
With the passage of time, handbell choirs have grown in size and acquire more and more octaves of bells. Sets of three to five octaves are pretty typical as of the 21st century. Four-octave sets, strangely, are relatively uncommon.
Note that some pieces in the Choraegus catalog are for three or five octaves.
Apr 18
Home at Last (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, Level 4+)
I wrote several dozen choral pieces for Living Water, my choir at Valley Church of Cupertino. It occurred to me that some of those songs might be reworked into handbell pieces. Home at Last is the first one to be arranged. Today we have a new video of the handbell arrangement to share with you! …
Apr 11
Forever (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, Level 5) – new video!
Forever was commissioned in 2012 by Dee Allaway and her family in memory of her father Walter Dennis Oliver. It’s a grand tribute to a man who brought music to his family as well as others around him. At least five octaves of handbells are necessary to play Forever. You’ll find that there are abundant …
Mar 10
I Sing the Mighty Power of God (ELLACOMBE) (Handbells, 3 to 5 octaves, Level 3+)
The Bible says that it is the Person and power of the Lord Jesus Christ that holds the universe from falling apart. That’s true not only in physics, but also in our own lives as well. Our new arrangement of I Sing the Mighty Power of God has some delightful counterpoint that will challenge your …
I Sing the Mighty Power of God (ELLACOMBE) (Handbells, 3 to 5 octaves, Level 3+)
The Bible says that it is the Person and power of the Lord Jesus Christ that holds the universe from falling apart. That’s true not only in physics, but also in our own lives as well. This arrangement of I Sing the Mighty Power of God has some delightful counterpoint that will challenge and enchant …
Mar 07
Snow (Handbells, 3 octaves, Level 1+)
I love living in Michigan. The rotation of the seasons give me something to love every month, and something fresh to do every three months. Okay… mowing in the spring and summer, raking in the autumn, and shoveling in the winter. But it’s exercise, and I’m in better shape for it! In the handbell world, …
Standing on the Promises of God (handbells, 3 to 5 octaves, plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 3)
Standing on the Promises was one of the hymns we sang often in my first church. It reflects the joy of having Christ as Savior, and the hope of going to heaven. When God makes a promise, He keeps it! Standing on the Promises is available from Handbell World.
Crush Collision March (handbells, 3 to 6 octaves, Level 4)
Scott Joplin’s genius as the King of Rag shines in this arrangement of his Crush Collision March. The music depicts a long railroad track with two steam locomotives and the cars they’re pulling. The problem is that the two trains are headed toward each other at full tilt, and are unaware of each other until …
Chopsticks (handbells, 3 to 5 octaves, Level 5/6)
There’s a famous story about how a little boy found his way onto the great Ignacy Paderewski’s piano bench before a concert, and, oblivious to the audience, began playing Euphemia Allen’s world-famous 1877 hit Chopsticks. The ticket-holders in the seats were shocked, and angrily wanted the child removed. Paderewski, however, walked up behind the bench …
Feb 21
We have a new video for Rescue (for handbell choir, 3 to 7 octaves)!
We published Rescue, an original handbell piece for three to seven octaves, some time ago. Now we’ve made a new video! Rescue draws a picture of a bit of the composer’s own life story… but while the details aren’t shared here, perhaps you can think of a time when your own path was dark and …
